Fansided

8 players who had their careers cut short because of injuries

By FanSided Staff

Jun 15, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; NBA TV analyst Grant Hill before game five of the 2014 NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 15, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; NBA TV analyst Grant Hill before game five of the 2014 NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 28, 2015; Tallahassee, FL, USA; Wake Forest Demon Deacons head coach Danny Manning in the second half against the Florida State Seminoles at the Donald L. Tucker Center. The Florida State Seminoles won 82-76 in double overtime. Mandatory Credit: Phil Sears-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 28, 2015; Tallahassee, FL, USA; Wake Forest Demon Deacons head coach Danny Manning in the second half against the Florida State Seminoles at the Donald L. Tucker Center. The Florida State Seminoles won 82-76 in double overtime. Mandatory Credit: Phil Sears-USA TODAY Sports /

Danny Manning

One of Kansas basketball’s finest, Danny Manning was a star ready to make his print on professional basketball. He single-handedly willed Kansas to upset Oklahoma with a 31 point effort. Some of his career highlights include being named a two-time All-American and the Most Outstanding Player in the 1988 NCAA tournament. Manning left the Jayhawks as the All-time leading scorer and rebounder with his sights set on breaking more records in the NBA.

That was until he suffered a knee injury his rookie year. He only played 26 games that season and question marks surrounded his name ever since. At the peak of his career, Manning averaged over 20 points and almost 7.0 rebounds per game. It seemed his knee troubles were behind him.

But that was hardly the case. He ended up requiring two more surgeries that sidelined him for extensive periods of time. But Manning persevered, returning to action again and again, each time with a diminished role. He won the sixth man of the year award in 1998, but eventually retired because of his history with knee trouble.

Manning is currently the head coach for the Wake Forest basketball team. While his knee troubles did prevent him from becoming the player he was at Kansas, it did not stop him from becoming a great basketball coach. He started as an assistant at Kansas before becoming the head coach at Tulsa and finally ending up as the head coach for Wake Forest, where he currently resides. Manning will go down as one of the all-time great college basketball players in the history of the NCAA.

But unfortunately, because of injury, it prevented him from leaving the same legacy at the professional level.

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